Missionaries of the Blessed Sacrament

Newsletter No. 71

October 2003

"Never cease praying, render constant thanks; such is Gods will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5; 17-18)

"In the humble signs of bread and wine, changed into his body and blood, Christ walks beside us as our strength and our food for the journey, and he enables us to become, for everyone, witnesses of hope. If, in the presence of this mystery, reason experiences its limits, the heart, enlightened by the grace of the Holy Spirit, clearly sees the response that is demanded, and bows low in adoration and unbounded love (Pope John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 62).

"The contemplation of Christ at the school of Mary . . . [is] halting before the 'Eucharistic face' of Christ and pointing out with new force to the Church the centrality of the Eucharist" (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 7). Intensify your praying of the Rosary, privately and in community, to obtain from the Lord those graces that the Church and humanity especially need. I invite everyone to do this: children, adults, young and old, families, parishes and religious communities. Among the many intentions, I would not wish to forget that of peace. War and injustice have their origins in the 'divided' heart. 'Anyone who assimilates the mystery of Christ--and this is clearly the goal of the Rosary--learns the secret of peace and makes it his life's project' (Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 40). If the Rosary keeps pace with the speed of our lives, it can become a privileged instrument for building peace in the hearts of persons, in families and among peoples. With Mary, we can obtain everything from her Son Jesus. Supported by Mary, we will not hesitate to devote ourselves generously to taking the proclamation of the Good News to the ends of the earth" (77th World Mission Day). (Quotes of Pope John Paul II, which are in our new A-13 pamphlet, with the Luminous Mysteries).

"With the addition of these five new luminous mysteries, Pope John Paul II in fact restored mysteries that had actually existed in an earlier version of the rosary which predates the fifteen decades with which we are familiar. In doing so, he made the christological character of the rosary ever clearer. These are Christ's mysteries seen through the eyes of Our Blessed Lady" (Fr. J. Augustine Di Noia, O.P., under-secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith).

World Mission Sunday, October 19--Beatification of Mother Teresa of CalcuttaBl. (Mother) Teresa of Calcutta, Missionaries of Charity Foundress, Albania (1910-1997) Nobel Peace Prize winner and foundress of the Missionaries of Charity, Mother Teresa brought the homeless, sick, destitute and dying home to "die like angels." She attributed her many charitable works to her daily Holy Hours of prayer before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Mother Teresa said, "I know I would not be able to work one week if it were not for that continual force coming from Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament." Mother wrote, "The time you spend with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the best time you will spend on earth . . . and will help bring about everlasting peace on earth." "I am very glad to know about the perpetual adoration movement . . . . Thank God for His love for you--for His presence in you and the joy with which you love and serve Him in the Blessed Sacrament and in each other. Each one of us is a co-worker of Christ--we must labour hard to carry Him to the hearts where He has not yet been known and loved. But unless we have Jesus we cannot give Him; that is why we need the Eucharist. Spend as much time as possible in front of the Blessed Sacrament and He will fill you with His strength and His power . . . . Then you will become instruments of His love, peace and joy" (From our A-8 Mother Teresa pamphlet).

St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Church Doctor (1873-1897), France--Oct. 1 This Patroness of the Missions wrote, "By our little acts of charity practiced in the shade we convert souls far away, we help missionaries, we win for them abundant alms; and by that means build actual dwellings spiritual and material for our Eucharistic Lord.

Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels--Oct. 2 "The Bread of Life will help the body as well as the soul, if we have faith. If we but touch the hem of His garment . . . We can find Him, at every moment, on the altar. Be with Him there . . . Thank the Trinity over and over again for this Gift. Rest in His presence, and my guardian angel will adore Him for me" (Edel Quinn, Legion of Mary).

St. Francis of Assisi, Founder of the Franciscans, (c. 1181-1226), Italy--Oct. 4 He wrote, "Why will you not know the truth and 'believe in the Son of God'? Behold, daily He humbles Himself as when from His 'royal throne' He came into the womb of the Virgin; daily He Himself comes to us with humility; daily He descends from the bosom of His Father upon the altar, in the hands of the priest. And as He appeared in true flesh to the holy apostles, so now He shows Himself to us in the sacred bread; and as they by means of their fleshly eyes saw only His flesh, yet contemplating Him with their spiritual eyes, believed Him to be God, so we, seeing bread and wine with bodily eyes, see and firmly believe it to be His most holy body and true and living blood. And in this way Our Lord is ever with His faithful, as He Himself says: 'Behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.'"

Bl. Marie-Rose Durocher, Religious (1811-1849), Canada--Oct. 6 Foundress of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. When asked for counsel, Bl. Marie-Rose advised souls to visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and "Ask Our Lady to help you. Ask her to entreat her Son to let you know what you should do."

Our Lady of the Rosary--Oct. 7 Throughout Church history, the Blessed Sacrament and the Rosary have brought about victories in hopeless times. One example is the battle of Lepanto in 1571. When forces sought to destroy Christianity in Europe, Pope Pius V instructed all Churches to hold 40 hours devotions [Eucharistic Adoration] and recite the Rosary. The Catholic faith was saved by people praying before our Lord in the Holy Eucharist and offering the Holy Rosary. We celebrate this feast, formerly as Our Lady of Victory, now as Our Lady of the Rosary, on October 7.

Anniversary of Our Ladys Apparition at Fatima and the Miracle of the Sun (1917)--Oct. 13 In this apparition at Fatima Our Blessed Mother appeared with the Christ Child and St. Joseph and said: "I am the Lady of the Rosary, and I desire a Chapel built." Mary said to go to her Eucharistic Son and pray the Rosary every day for the salvation of souls and world peace.

St. Teresa of Avila, Carmelite & Church Doctor (1515-1582), Spain--Oct. 15 She wrote, "I am quite sure that if we could but once approach the Most Holy Sacrament with great faith and love, it would suffice to make us rich. How much more so if we approach it often!"

St. Gerard Majella, Religious, Patron of Expectant Mothers (1726-1755), Italy--Oct. 16 This Redemptorist Brother loved our Blessed Mother, Jesus in the Eucharist and the sick. St. Gerard, called the "wonder worker," had a great reverence for all human life. Through his intercession great miracles of healing, especially for pregnant mother and babies, occurred.

St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr (d. 107), Syria--Oct. 17 He wrote, "Be careful, therefore, to take part only in the one Eucharist; for there is only one Flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ and one cup to unite us with His Blood."

Help spread Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration throughout the world! Please be generous! Contact us for information, to schedule a Missionary, or obtain Adoration materials: